The development of a commercially viable metal-insulator-metal (MIM) stack for Resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM) has not yet been achieved partly because there is not a detailed, predictive theory for the mechanism determining these devices' cycling properties. Lacking this, one does not know which device operation parameters have a controlling role in the switching behavior and which ones are dependent variables, or what the relevant material parameters are for the constituent metals and dielectrics in the devices that will make those devices cycle their resistance.
Currently proposed theories for creating a working ReRAM element involve searching for oxides that exhibit switching behavior, assuming that this behavior and its properties are intrinsic functions of the dielectric material used in the device structure. However, other variables may affect the performance of a ReRAM element. Thus, what is needed are new techniques for creating ReRAM elements.